who were the 5 armies in the hobbit

In Tolkien’s book The Hobbit , the five armies at the Battle of Five Armies are generally understood to be: Men, Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, and Wild Wolves (Wargs).

Core answer

Most Tolkien scholars and fan discussions agree that the five are:

• Men of Lake-town (Esgaroth)

• Elves of Mirkwood under Thranduil

• Dwarves led by Thorin and reinforced by Dáin Ironfoot

• Goblins (often equated with Orcs) from the Misty Mountains

• Wild Wolves (Wargs), who fight as an allied but distinct host with the goblins

Tolkien distinguishes the “Wild Wolves” from the wolves used as mounts by the goblins, which is why many readers count them as a separate army.

Why there’s confusion

• Some modern articles and forum discussions swap the Wolves/Wargs out and list the Eagles instead, because they play such a dramatic role in turning the battle.

• The Peter Jackson films complicate matters further by splitting the evil side into two Orc armies (Dol Guldur and Gundabad) and effectively dropping the Wargs as a separately counted force.

So if you are talking strictly about the original book, the “official” five are Men, Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, and Wild Wolves; Eagles and Beorn are powerful reinforcements, but not part of the counted five.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.